** spoiler alert ** This graphic is fantastic on so many levels. The artwork is grayscale yet complex like the story. The main character Anya is a first generation immigrant who has managed to obscure enough of her native nationality to blend in with the American high school population. She is not part of the popular crowd and is trying too hard to be cool. In the beginning of the story she tries to maintain her "coolness" by rejecting Dima, another first generation immigrant who hasn't lost his accent and isn't embracing the cool.

Anya begins to transform emotionally after she falls down a hole while stomping through the park, obsessing over all the things she can't change. This is where she meets her ghost. The ghost is innocent and charming. Anya is freaked out and rude in turns. The ghost helps her get out of the hole and then tags along. The ghost seems almost like a guardian angel at first. She helps Anya with school work and boosts her self-esteem. Anya begins to bond with her ghost but becomes more agitated and less patient with her friends and family.

The turning point happens when the ghost has attempted to help Anya "get the guy". Anya discovers the guy is not worth getting and the relationship with her ghost begins to unravel. The ghost becomes crass and abusive because Anya is not interested in the boy anymore. Anya decides to research the "murder" of her ghost. At the library she runs into Dima who offers to help her with her search. During the search she begins to soften towards Dima and gives him encouragement about getting through highschool. This line summed up her changed emotional view, "Impressing a bunch of snooty teenagers is a pretty lame life goal to have." She talking to Dima, but she's describing herself.

After Anya discovers the shocking truth of the ghost's past and confronts her, the ghost goes after Anya's family. Anya, ironically, with her new found self confidence rescues her family and banishes the ghost. Anya has made peace with herself, patched her relationships with friends and family, and wears a rare smile in the end of the novel. The second to last bit of dialog comes from her friend Siobhan, "You may look normal like everyone else, but you're not. Not on the inside."